Fluid-actuated waste disposal unit



April 29, 1958 s. A. SPRAGUE I FLUID-ACTUATED WASTE DISPOSAL UNIT Filed001;. 14, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l STEPHEN A 51 2,4605,

INVENTOR.

'BY I Cg l... l

ATTOEIVEY- April 29, 1958 s. A. SPRAGUE 2,832,546

FLUID-ACTUATED WASTE DISPOSAL UNIT Filed Oct. 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2STEPHEN A. JPQAGUE, INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY;

A ril 29, 1958 s. A. sPRAGuE FLUID-ACTUATED WASTE DISPOSAL UNIT 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 14, 1953 STEPHEN A. 5 246115,

INVENTORQ ATraQA/Ey.

Unit

FLUiD-ATUATED WASTE DISPOSAL UNIT Applications (Bctober 14, 1953, SerialNo. 385,971

3 Claims. (Cl. 241-46) This invention relates to a fluid-operatedgrinding or waste disposal unit and more particularly to a portablegarbage disposal unit adapted to be utilized with a drain system andplumbing fixtures normally found in homes and the like.

Prior waste disposal units for home installation have usually included aunit permanently fixed in the drain pipe of a kitchen sink. Such priorunits included a power or drive means for the grinding mechanism whichwas driven by electrical means as an electrical motor. Obviously such apermanent installation in the waste drain pipe of a kitchen sinktogether with additional electrical wiring for the associated electricalmotor required considerable labor and expense. Such installations wereoften difiicult because of limited space beneath the kitchen sink, andmodification of permanent structure was often necessary.

Permanently installed electrically operated disposal units utilized thedrain opening of the sink as the waste inlet and normally garbage orwaste material was fed through an unguarded drain opening to thedisposal unit. In the event that an article of silverware or some otherobject became included with the waste material, or accidently fell intothe opening, the article was either com,- pletely destroyed, or thedamaged article was passed into the waste drain where it was eitherflushed away or formed an obstruction in the waste drain. At thesametime the permanently installed disposal unit might suffer damage. Toextract such articles immediately and before damage resulted theoperator was required to introduce his fingers of his hand, or someother tool, into the drain opening or waste inlet. Such a procedure wasextremely dangerous because of the grinding or shredding mechanism.

This invention contemplates a novel waste disposal operable by fluidunder pressure and removably positioned over the drain opening of asink. The unit is small, compact and requires. for its operation only asimple hose connection between the unit and the faucet of the sinkwhereby fluid under pressure in the water line to the building isemployed to operate the unit.

Obviously a portable, readily removably positioned waste disposal unitincludes many advantages over an electrically operable permanentlyinstalled unit. The cost of installation is considerably less. Cleaningand repair of such a unit may be easily accomplished. The danger ofaccidently dropping valued articles into the unit is considerablylessened because such articles must first be lifted for introduction tothe unit. The problems created by limited space beneath a kitchen sinkare no longer present.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to design andprovide a waste disposal unit adapted to be actuated by fluid underpressure, such as water from a water supply line.

An object of this invention is to design and provide a portable wastedisposal unit which may be employed States Patentf) "i e 2,832,546

Patented Apr. 29,, 19.58

in a manner which does not require a permanent installation nor a changein the plumbing drain system of a kitchen.

Another object of this invention is to dseign and provide a portable,compact, readily movable waste disposal unit which employs fluid underpressure for its operation.

A further object of this invention is to design and provide a wastedisposal unit wherein water under normal pressures from a kitchen faucetis employed to operate the waste disposal unit.

A still further object of this invention is to design and provide awaste disposal unit which embodies novel features of construction sothat fluid used to operate the unit is also employed to flush wastematerial introduced into the unit and to carry such waste material infinely divided form through the unit to the waste drain pipe.

The invention contemplates a portable fluid-actuated waste disposal unitwhich may not only be employed for grinding waste material into finelydivided form for flushing through a kitchen plumbing drain system butwhich may also utilize the power developed by said unit for otherkitchen operations such as extracting juice from fruit, grinding meat,etc.

Generally speaking, this invention contemplates a portable readilyhandled waste disposal unit which may be placed within a kitchen sinkover a standard drain opening therein and connected to a water faucetfor us ing water therefrom for operation. The waste disposal unit is, soconstructed that the water from the faucet impinges as a jet streamagainst a turbine or vane means in a power or impeller chamber in thebottom portion of the unit so as to drive a pulverizing member mountedfor rotation in a shredding chamber in an upper portion of the unit. Thewater under pressure introduced into the unit is conducted throughpassageway to the shredding chamber and forcibly ejected as a jet streamupon the waste material thereof in such a manner that waste material isflushed and fed into a position Where the pulverizing member and acooperable shredder member is capable of grinding the waste materialinto finely divided form. The waste material in finely dividedcomminuted form is readily flushed from the shredding chamber into awaste receiving chamber and then through a Waste outlet provided in thebottom of the unit into the waste drain.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparentfrom the following description of the drawings in which an exemplaryembodiment of this unit is shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a Waste disposal unit embodying thisinvention positioned in a kitchen sink and attached to a faucet foroperation.

Fig. 2 is a small diagrammatic top view of the unit shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the unit shown in Fig. l and taken in theangularly related vertical planes indicated by line ill- H1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top view of the bottom body portion of the unit as viewedfrom the transverse plane indicatedrby line IViV of Fig. 3, the top bodyportion and pulverizer member being removed.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the bottom body portion of the housingtaken in vertical planes indicated by line V-V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane indicated byline VlVl of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View taken in the plane indicated byline Vil-VII of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a side view of a pulverizer member used in said unit.

Fig. 9 is a top view of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane indicated byline XI-XI of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of an exemplary juice extractor adapted tobe driven by the power means of said waste disposal unit.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary, enlarged top view of Fig. 12.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown diagrammatically an installation of agarbage or waste disposal unit embodying this invention and generallyindicated at 20, in operative position in a kitchen sink. It will benoted that the unit is placed in the center of the sink directly overthe waste or drain opening 21 thereof. A hose 22 connects the faucet ofthe sink with the unit in order to provide fluid under pressure foroperating the unit, in this instance, water from the main water supplyfor the building.

The waste disposal unit generally comprises a separable two-piece hollowbody or housing 24 provided with a top waste inlet 25 and a bottom Wasteoutlet 26. The waste inlet 25 leads to an upper grinding or shreddingchamber 27 wherein waste material is ground into finely divided form.Below the shredding chamber is provided a turbine or vane means 28 whichis actuated by fluid introduced to the lower portion of the housingthrough a fluid or water inlet port 29 for rotating the vane means whichdrives a pulverizing member 30 in the shredding chamber. Passagewaysleading from the inlet port 29 provide forcible jet flow of fluid todrive the vane means and to flush waste material in the shreddingchamber through the unit both during and after grinding.

The housing 24 includes a top generally frustoconical integrally casthollow body portion 32 having its smaller end forming a top neck sectionwhich defines the waste inlet 25. The wall 33 of the frusto-conicalportion includes a pair of longitudinally extending diametricallyopposed ducts 34 having bottom openings in the annular bottom edge face35 of the top portion. Spaced below the waste inlet 25 and extendingradially inwardly and downwardly Within the top portion are a pair oflongitudinally extending flanges 36 provided with downwardly directedduct portions 37 communicating with ducts 34 for discharging water intothe shredding chamber 27 as later described.

Means for finely dividing waste material fed to the disposal unitincludes a shredding or grinding means comprising a ring-like internallytoothed stationary shredder member 41 fitted within an annular recessformed in the internal bottom marginal face of the wall 33, said recessdefining an annular shoulder 42 against which the top edge of theshredder member may seat. The shredder member 41 includes a plurality ofdiagonally downwardly inclined internal teeth 43 adapted to cooperatewith'rotatable pulverizing member 30 for finely dividing or comminutingthe waste material into minute particles which may be readily flushedinto a waste drain system.

The'pulverizing member 30'may be of disc-like form having an outerdiameter slightly less than the inner toothed diameter of the shreddermember 41. The pulverizer member may be threadedly mounted on a drivenshaft 45 coaxially mounted within the housing. The member 39 includes aconvex circular top face 46 (Figs. 8 and 9) in which may be formed aplurality of downwardly tapering radially outwardly directed grooves 47in the outer circumferential portion thereof. The grooves 47 serve tourge waste material outwardly during rotation of the disc and to guidefluid ejected from the duct portions 37 to provide adequate flushing andlubrication of said material.

Extending diametrically across the top face of the pulverizer member 30may be a blade element 48 having a central portion of uniform width andopposed end portions 49 reduced in stepped fashion along the leadingvertical face with respect to rotation of member 30.

In the example shown, two steps 50 and 51 are shown for each endportion. These steps 50 and 51 are faced in the direction of rotation ofthe pulverizer member 30 so as to further assist in the movement ofwaste material outwardly and against the teeth 43 of the shredder memherduring operation.

The bottom face 53 of the pulverizer member 30 may be substantially flatand lie in a plane at right angles to its axis of rotation. Downwardlydepending from said bottom face may be a plurality of equiangularlyspaced bottom curved scraper blades 54 integrally formed therewith. Thebottom blades 54 may be formed of trapezoidal cross-section having abottom narrow face. The depth of each blade 54 increases in the form ofa smooth down- \vardly directed curved edge 55 as the blade extendsradially outwardly. Each blade may extend beyond the outer circumferenceof the pulverizer member 30 to provide a cutting top edge 56 disposedbeneath the bottom edge face of the shredder member 41 and cooperabletherewith to further reduce the size of the shredded waste particlepassed between circumferential edge of the pulverizer member and theteeth of the shredder member.

Means for connecting the top body portion 32 and an enlarged, generallycylindrical bottom body portion 58 in assembled relation with their axesin offset parallel relation may include a plurality of spaced alignedbores formed in an out-turned bottom margin on the top portion 32 and analigned annular top margin 60 of the same diameter as and coaxial withthe top body portion 32. The bores may receive suitable securing means61 such as screw bolt assemblies.

Seated on top margin 60 and between opposed end faces of the bodyportions 32 and 58 may be an annular flange 62 of a circular, generallyshallow cup-shaped bearing member 63. The flange 62 is ported to receivethe securing means 61.

The bearing member 63 includes a shallow cylindrical side wall 64 and atransverse bottom wall 65 having a flat bottom face 66. The upper face67 of the bottom wall 65 may be generally frusto-conical in form,sloping downwardly and outwardly from the center of the bearing member.The face 67 lies in close spaced relation to bottom edges 55 of theblades 54 of the pulverizer mernber 30. The inner diameter of the sidewall 64 is slightly greater than the outer diameter of the blades 54 soas to receive the blades 54 therein. The shredder ring 41 extends intothe bearing member 63 so that bottom edges of the shredder member lie inclose cutting relation to the top cutting edges 56 of the extendedblades 54.

The bottom body portion 58 comprises an outer cylindrical side wall 70having its axis offset from the axis of the top body portion 32. Theside wall 70 and the wall 33 of the top body portion 32 may beapproximately tangentially related at a common tangent point T. A topcurved section 69 smoothly merges with the adjacent top annular margin60 opposite to point T.

A power or impeller chamber 71 may be defined within the body portion 58by a transverse circular partition Wall 72, the center of said partitionwall 72 being aligned with the axis of the top body portion. A partiallycircular upstanding wall portion 73 generally opposite inlet 29integrally merges with the partition wall 72, and with the body portion58 and lies in spaced relation to the adjacent inner surface of theouter wall 70. The partition wall 72 and a bottom wall 74 integrallyformed with side wall 70 define a waste-receiving chamber 75. The bottomWall 74 is provided with the centrally disposed waste outlet 26.

Means for rotating the pulverizer member 30,may comprise an impulse-typeturbine or vane means generally indicated at 28, such as a Pelton wheel.The vane means includes a central hub 77 upon which may be integrallycast in circumferential spaced outwardly directed relation, a pluralityof vane elements or buckets 78. Each vane bucket 78 is of the type usedon a Pelton wheel and of spoon shape including a central sharp ridge 79dividing the bucket into two halves.

The hub 77 may be flxed to shaft 45 in any suitable manner as by a setscrew 46. The shaft 45 is provided with a lower reduced diameter endportion 80 which may be journaled in a suitable annular antifrictionmember 81 carried and positioned in a bearing recess 82 provided by adownwardly ofiset central portion of partition wall 72. The upperportion of shaft 45 may be journaled in a suitable antifriction bearingmember 83 carried and positioned in a bearing recess 84'provided inbearing member 65. The top portion of shaft 45 threadedly carriesthepulverizer member 30 as previously described.

The waste outlet 26 leading from the waste-receiving chamber 75 isformedby an integrally cast, depending annular flange 86, the flangebeing adapted to be inserted within a drain opening as at 21 of akitchen sink. An annularly, downwardly facing seat 87 encircling theflange may carry in suitable manner an annular resilient washer 88 ofsuitable synthetic or rubber composition material for resilientlysupporting the unit on the bottom Wall of a sink and for acting as aseal for said unit with respect to the drain opening of the sink.

Passageway means for conducting actuating fluid such as water from thekitchen tap to the vane means in the impeller chamber and through thedisposal unit to the discharge waste outlet for driving the vane meansand for flushing waste material will now be described. A single fluidinlet 29 is formed in the bottom body portion 58 at a thickened metalsection disposed approximately 90 from the point of tangency T. Theinlet 29 is downwardly directed at a suitable angle and maybe internallythreaded for connection to a suitable hose or rubber tube such as 22.The hose 22 may be connected to the discharge end of a faucet in anysuitable manner as by a quick connecting coupling so that when thefaucet is turned on the fluid therefrom will be conducted directly tothe disposal unit.

The fluidinlet 29 leads to a converging tapered bore 90 which terminatesin a orifice or port 91 which lies in the sameplanar zone as the divider79 of the vane buckets 78. The orifice 91 is also directed at an angleto the circular path of the vane means as may best be seen in Fig. 5. Alarge opening 92 is provided within the bottom body portion 58 which isdefined by edge 94 of curved wall section 72, the bottom partiallycircular edge of the partition wall 72 and at the top by the bearingmember 63. This large opening 92 provides an outlet for water from theimpeller chamber to the offset portion of the waste-receiving chamber 75virtually directly opposite the point of tangency T. The purpose of thisopening will be described later in connection with operation of theunit.

Openings 95 may be provided in partition wall 72 for reducing the amountof metal employed and to provide further communication between impellerchamber 71 and the waste-receiving chamber 75.

A second separate passageway means for fluid introduced to the garbagedisposal unit through the inlet 29 may comprise an upwardly directedbore 96 leading from inlet 29 and terminating at the annular top edgeface of the bottom body portion 58. Above inlet 29 the flange 62 of thebearing member 63 is provided with a port 97 which is aligned with bore96 to communicate with an upwardly facing annular groove 98 formed inthe top surface of flange 62. T he groove 98 serves as a manifold forconducting fluid to ducts 34 so that part of the fluid entering theinlet port 29 is directed into shredding chamber and is ejected forciblythereinto along downwardly radially inwardly directed paths. The fluidinjected into the shredder chamber. serves to facilitate movement andflow of waste material fed into the shredding chamber toward theshredder ring and pulverizer member.

A suitable cleanout port 100 may be provided in the 6 thickened metalsection adjacent to the fluid inlet 29' and a cleanoutplug 101 may bethreadedly inserted thereinto.

Exemplary operation of the waste disposal unit described above maycomprise first placing of the unit20 manually upon a sink with thedischarge outlet 26 inserted into the drain opening of the sink, theunit being sealed and resiliently mounted around said opening by meansof the annular resilient washer 88. The hose :22 may be connected to thewater inlet, the other end of the hose being sleeved over the end of thefaucet and connected thereto in any suitable wellknown manner. Wastemate rial may then be placed in the waste inlet 25 and into theshredding chamber 27.

When the water is turned on so that a selected fluid pressure and volumeof water enters the water inlet 29 of the unit, water will flow throughbore and be forcibly ejected as a high velocity jet stream through theorifice 91 into the impeller chamber '71. Impingernent of'the jet streamof water against the vane buckets 78 will cause the vane means 28 torotate, and thereby rotate the pulverizer member 30 in the shredderchamber 2'7 at high velocity and in cooperative relation to the shreddermember 41. The Water which enters the impeller chamber 71 for drivingvane means 28 leaves the impeller chamber after impinging against thevane buckets through opening 92. In view of the jet action of the waterupon the vane buckets and the pressures and volume of water employed,opening 92 isof relatively great size so that flooding of impellerchamber will be eliminated and the jettedwater after having served itspurpose will readily flow from the chamber. It should be noted that thelarger portion of the waste-receiving chamber 75 is disposed adjacent toopening 92 so that the water which has impinged against the vane meansis provided with a sufficiently large chamber for flow thereinto andthen through the waste outlet 26 without creating backfiow or backpressures.

' Part of the water entering the inlet 29 flows upwardly through thesecond passageway means and is forcibly ejected out of the ducts 34 and37 into the shredder chamber. Waste material carried in the shreddingchamber is urgedby these jet streams of water to flow to the outercircumference of the pulverizer member. The rotating pulverizer memberalso imparts centrifugal force to waste material resting thereon whichtends to throw waste material outwardly and against the shredder ring.The effect of centrifugal force'and the jet streams of water move thewaste material between the teeth of the shredder member andcircumferential edge face of the pulverizing member so that thewastematerial is effectively shredded and ground into relatively finelydivided particles. These particles are urged downwardly between theshredder member and the opposed circumferential edge face of thepulverizer member and are further comminuted by the horizontal topcutting edges 56 of the lower blades 54 which cooperate with the bottomedge face of the shredder member. Finely divided waste material flowsonto the top frusto-conical surface of bearing member 63 and is swepttherearound by the blades 54.

At a point generally opposite the water inlet 29 the top surface 67 ofthe bearing member may be gouged or recessed at 163 to form a generallyradially extending shoulder 1M. Opposite recessed portion 1193 areprovided aligned discharge outlets 1&5 and 166 respectively formed inthe side wall 64 of the bearing member and the partially cylindricalwall portion "/3. Waste material accumulates against shoulder lit-4 andas the curved blades 54 sweep over the surface of the bearing member,waste material is swept outwardly through the discharge openings 105 and106 into the waste-receiving chamber 75.

In the waste-receiving chamber 75 finely divided waste material isthoroughly mixed with fluid from the impeller chamber so that a thinreadily flowable mass of waste gnitzeial may be discharged through thedischarge outwater from the fluid inlet 29 to the shredding chamber thusserves to flush the waste material in the shredding chamber. The opposedarrangement of downwardly directed streams of fluid ejected from theopenings within the shredding chamber effectively lubricates a mass ofwaste material in the shredding chamber so as to facilitate movement ofthe waste material into and between the toothed shredder member and thepulverizer member. The radial partial grooves 47 formed in the topsurface of the pulverizer member facilitate this movement by permittingfluid to flow beneath the mass of waste material and to effectivelylubricate passage of said material between opposed faces of the teeth onthe shredder member and the circumferential edge face of the pulverizermember. Thus means are provided whereby the waste material is subjectedto fluid under pressure which is capable of moving and lubricating thewaste material to facilitate the shredding of said material.

When all of thewaste material introduced through the waste inlet 25 hasbeen finely divided and flushed through the waste disposal unit it willbe readily apparent that permitting the faucet to remain open a fewmoments longer will effectively flush and clean the interior of theWaste disposal unit. Thus the unit is virtually self-cleanmg.

It should also be noted that the waste disposal unit may be easily andreadily disassembled for cleaning and servicing so that if the teeth onthe shredder member should need sharpening the shredder member can beeasily removed.

It should also be noted that the passageway means from the fluid inlet29 to the shredding chamber is independent and separate from thepassageway means from the shredding chamber to the waste outlet. Thusthere is no danger of contaminating the fluid inlet line with wastematerial.

It should be also noted that a relatively wide annular seat is providedby annular face 87 on the bottom of the unit so that when the unit ispositioned over a drain outlet it will be supported in a steady andstable manner. It may also be noted that by employing a circularmanifold groove 95 and the diametrically opposed ducts in the upperportion of the housing virtually all vibration of the unit is eliminatedand the unit is dynamically selfbalanced.

In the Figs. 12 and 13 there is shown an attachment for V the wastedisposal unit described above which is adapted to extract juice fromfruit such as oranges, the extractor being driven through a suitablepower take-off means by the power means provided in the waste disposalunit.

The shaft 45 of the waste disposal unit may be provided with well-knownmeans (not shown) for affording a quick coupling to a shaft extension110 supported at its upper end by an antifriction bearing 111 carried ina mounting member 112. The mounting member 112 may be secured againstrotation by any suitable means and may be carried by an arm 113extending across and engaging the top margin of the housing 24.

The mounting member 112 may carry a pair of upstanding positoning studs114 which are adapted to be received in the bottom wall of ajuice-receiving bowl 115. The juice-receiving bowl 115 may have anupwardly facing opening 115 defined by a frusto-conical wall 117, theinner surface of said wall 117 having a bottom inwardly extendingshoulder 118 which may support a perforated circular strainer 119. Thecenter portion of strainer 119 may be mounted on upwardly directedcentral boss 120 formed on the bottom wall of bowl 115. A downwardlydirected juice outlet 121 may be provided at one side of the bowl.

The upper end of shaft 110 may be splined as at 123 for connection to ashaft stub 124 which is rotatable wthin an axial opening 125 in thebottom wall of the bowl 115, The stub 124 is arranged at its top end tocarry a hemispherical juice-extracting member 126, said member 126 beingprovided with spaced longitudinally extending ribs 127 to facilitatejuice extraction.

In operation of the juice extractor attachment the disposal unit 20 maybe positioned in a sink as described herein above. The juice-extractingbowl 115 together with the associated shafts 124 and may be connected tothe drive shaft 45. Upon opening of the faucet of the sink the waterwill actuate the vane means of the 1 unit causing the shafts to rotateand thereby rotating the hemispherical extractor member 126. Half fruitmay be pressed downwardly upon the extractor 126 and the juice derivedtherefrom will pass through the perforated strainer and out of the juiceoutlet 121 and into a suitable receptacle (not shown) providedtherebelow.

While a juice extracting attachment is exemplarily illustrated for usewith the above .waste disposal unit, it is understood that various otherattachments may be driven from the fluid-actuating means provided bysuch unit, and it is contemplated that the shaft 45 of said unit bearranged to quickly accommodate and receive various shaft attachments sothat power take-off means may be made available above the waste disposalunit for various accessories and attachments.

It is understood that while a portable garbage disposal unit has beendescribed, the unit of this invention may be permanently installed andoperated beneath a sink by making necessary changes in the waste inletand outlet openings. The fluid inlet may be connected to the watersupply line in well-known manner.

It is understood that numerous and various modifications may be made inthe construction of the waste disposal unit described above and whichmay come within the spirit of this invention and all such modificationand changes coming within the scope of the appended claims are embracedthereby.

I claim:

1. In a hydraulically operated waste disposal unit, the combination of:a hollow housing having a waste inlet and a waste outlet; said hollowhousing including coaxially arranged shredding and power chambers; aninternally toothed shredder member fixed to said housing in saidshredding chamber; a rotatable pulverizer member mounted within theshredding chamber in cooperable relation to said shredder member; aturbine means rotatably mounted in said power chamber and connected tosaid pulverizer member for rotation thereof; a single water inlet portin the housing; a first passageway leading from the inlet port to theshredding chamber for discharge of water in a downwardly directed streamupon the pulverizer member; a second passageway from the water inletport to the power chamber and providing an orifice for jetting a streamof water against said turbine means for rotating said pulverizer member,a waste discharge chamber below the power chamber; a third passagewayfrom the shredding chamber to the waste discharge chamber; an openingbetween said power chamber and said waste discharge chamber for fiow ofactuating water from said power chamber to said waste discharge chamber;said waste discharge chamber being connected to said waste outlet fordischarge of shredded waste material and actuating water.

2. In combination with a waste disposal unit including a shreddingchamber and a waste discharge chamber: a tranverse partition wall at oneend of said shredding chamber, said partition wall including a convexface directed toward the shredding chamber and provided with a side wallhaving a lateral opening therein for communication between the shreddingchamber and the waste discharge chamber; and a pulverizer memberrotatably mounted within the shredding chamber adjacent the partitionwall, said pulverizer member including a top face provided with radialgrooves extending to the edge of said member, a plurality of dependingscraper blades on the opposite face of the pulverizer member, saidblades extending beyond said member and including cutting ReferencesCited in the file of this patent edges, the bottom edges of said scraperblades being con- UNITED STATES PATENTS cave and correspondlng to theconvex face on the partrtion wall whereby comminuted waste material isswept 1,174,656 Befckwlth 7, 1916 by said blades to and out of saidopening into the waste 5 2,495,983 Rlihards 1950 discharge chamben snpthy 3. In a disposal unit as stated in claim 2 wherein the 2,629,558 M1111953 transverse partitlon wall includes a recess 1n the top face FOREIGNPATENTS thereof adjacent to said opening to facilitate flow of wastedischarge material through said opening. 10 833,172 Germany Mar. 20,1952

